THE BLESSING OF SEALING

One Christmas four wealthy brothers bought extravagant gifts for their elderly mother. One brother bought her a big house. Another installed a movie theater in that house. A third brother bought her a new Mercedes. But the fourth brother knew that their mother loved to read the Bible but couldn’t due to her poor eyesight. So, he found out about a parrot that had memorized the entire Bible and could recite every passage when instructed. That parrot, which took 12 years and 20 different preachers to train, cost him more than two million dollars. After receiving these gifts, the mother sent out thank you notes to her four sons. To the son who bought her a house, she wrote, “The house you built is so big. I live in only one room, but I still have to clean the whole house. Regardless, thank you for the house.” To the second, she said, “I’m certain this movie theater is outstanding. Unfortunately, I’ve lost my hearing, and I’m nearly blind so I’ll never use it. Thank you for the gesture just the same.” To the third, she said, “The car you purchased is the nicest car I’ve ever owned. However, I am too old to drive so I’ll never use it. But I appreciate what you were trying to do.” To the son who bought her the parrot, she wrote, “You were the only son to have the good sense to give me something I could actually use. The chicken was delicious. Thank you.”

Sometimes we receive gifts we don’t quite understand how to use, and, as a result, we sometimes misuse the gifts we have received. One spiritual gift that goes largely misunderstood and at times misused is the gift that is the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 1:13-14, Paul indicated that those who are in Christ have been “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it.” This verse associates the gift of the Holy Spirit with two primary things.

First, the gift of the Holy Spirit is associated with God’s seal of ownership on believers. Here, in Ephesians 1:13, Paul said that Christians have been “sealed with the…Holy Spirit.” Interestingly, this is not the only time Paul used the metaphor of a “seal” in conjunction with the Holy Spirit. Later in this same letter, Paul instructed the Christians in Ephesus to “not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” because He is the agent “by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). Then, in 2 Corinthians 1:22 Paul said that God “establishes us…and has anointed us” by “put[ting] his seal on us and giv[ing] us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

In the ancient world, “a seal conveyed authenticity and ownership.”^[1] Such was the case when King Ahasuerus signed Haman’s genocidal plan into law, we are told that “it was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring” (Esther 3:12). The king’s seal authenticated the law as coming from himself, and, as a result, demonstrated his ownership of the law. So, when Paul said that God put His seal on us and identified the Holy Spirit as that seal, He was saying that “the Spirit is the seal given to believers to verify that they belong to God.”^[2]

Second, the gift of the Holy Spirit is associated with God’s assurance of salvation for believers. Returning to Ephesians 1:14, you will notice that Paul referred to the Holy Spirit as “the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it.” Once again, this is not the only time Paul used such a metaphor. In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul was addressing the temporal nature of our earthly bodies as well as the internal longing we have for our eternal bodies, and he indicated that God not only “fashioned us for this very purpose” (i.e. to desire our heavenly dwelling) but also “[gave] us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come [i.e. our heavenly dwelling]” (2 Corinthians 5:5).

Why did Paul use the metaphor of a “guarantee” in reference to the Holy Spirit? The Greek term translated “guarantee” (ESV), “deposit” (NIV), or “pledge” (NASB), is a “financial term referring to a ‘first installment’ or ‘down payment’ paid out as a pledge of faithfulness to a commitment.”^[3] We understand deposits and down payments. We make a deposit or down payment on major purchases as a sign of good faith that we will uphold our end of the financial agreement. God is essentially doing the same thing. As one author summarized, “the Spirit given as a pledge is God’s guarantee to us that every promise He has made He will fulfill—the ultimate promise being heaven.”^[4] This means that the Holy Spirit, as our “deposit” or “guarantee” or “pledge,” whichever term you prefer, is intended to create confidence in our salvation.

How does one receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? Notice Peter’s instructions on the Day of Pentecost. In Acts 2:38, when the audience asked Peter “What shall we do,” Peter responded with the following instruction: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” In this instruction, Peter indicated that there are two things one receives when he or she “repent[s] and [is] baptized.” First, he or she receives “the forgiveness of…sins,” and, second, he or she “receive[s] the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Thus, Peter identified the Holy Spirit as a gift we receive in conjunction with the “forgiveness of sins” when we are “baptized…in the name of Jesus Christ.” This means that the gift of the Holy Spirit is given to those who have “put on Christ” by being “baptized” (Galatians 3:27). Therefore, if anyone wants to receive God’s seal of ownership and have confidence in his or her salvation, then her or she must be “buried…with [Christ] by baptism” (Romans 6:4).